Department for Transport

Logistics: Vacancies

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the causes of the shortage of level 2 qualified staff such as mechanics and technicians within the logistics industry; and what steps they intend to take to address this shortage.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The Government is working with the industry to address skills issues. We are encouraging the sector to make employment more attractive through offering training, careers options and to invest in automation technology. We are already supporting training through apprenticeships, including the level 2 Supply Chain Warehouse Operative apprenticeship and level 3 Transport and Warehouse Operations Supervisor apprenticeship. There are currently level 3 apprenticeships for light and heavy vehicle technicians. Apprentices without level 2 English and Maths can apply for level 3 apprenticeships but will need to achieve this level prior to completion of their apprenticeship.

EGNOS

Baroness Randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government whetheruncertainty over the future of OneWeb will affect plans to develop a UK alternative to the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service.

Baroness Vere of Norbiton: The status of OneWeb does not affect the Government’s research and development programme for a potential UK Space Based Augmentation System (SBAS).

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Solar Power: Loans

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to introduce interest-free loans to install solar panels.

Lord Callanan: The Government has a range of existing schemes and mechanisms which support rooftop solar deployment such as the Smart Export Guarantee, ensuring homes with solar panels get payment for the renewable electricity they export to the grid. In addition, the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme, The Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund, and The Home Upgrade Grant and the Green Homes Grant Local Authority Delivery (LAD) Scheme, all include solar panels as an eligible measure.

Energy Supply

Viscount Waverley: To ask Her Majesty's Government which countries they are in discussions with to make up the supply deficit of (1) oil, and (2) gas, arising from the current geopolitical situation.

Lord Callanan: My Rt. Hon. Friends the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs engage regularly with a range of European and international counterparts on energy security. As a member of the International Energy Agency and International Energy Forum the Government has regular discussions with partners about ensuring security of supply. We remain confident that the UK’s energy security will be maintained. The UK is a significant producer of both crude oil and petroleum products, and hold oil stocks in the unlikely event of a major oil supply disruption. The UK has highly diverse sources of gas supply. We meet around half of our annual gas supply through domestic production and the vast majority of imports come from reliable suppliers such as Norway.

Department of Health and Social Care

NHS England: Vacancies

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, what are the latest figures for the number of vacancies NHS England has for (1) doctors, (2) nurses, (3) other medically qualified staff, (4) clerical staff, and (5) other ancillary workers.

Lord Kamall: NHS Digital publishes vacancy data for National Health Service hospital trusts for doctors, registered nurses including nurses, health visitors and midwives and other staff. Information on other staff groups is not collected centrally.The latest available data for December 2021 shows there are 8,158 doctor vacancies, 39,652 nursing and midwifery vacancies and 62,382 other staff.

Health Services: Waiting Lists

Lord Sharkey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many patients were waiting for elective treatment for which NHS England’s specialised services function was responsible in (1) February 2020, and (2) the latest month for which figures are available; how many of these patients had already waited over 18 weeks; and what was the (a) mean, and (n) median, waiting time for those patients in each time period.

Lord Kamall: The data is not available in the format requested. Patients are coded as receiving a specialised service after their treatment has taken place, therefore the number of patients waiting for specialised services is not available.

Health Services: LGBT+ People

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made in ensuring that healthcare is fully available to transgender people since the report by TransActual UKTrans lives survey 2021: Enduring the UK's hostile environment, published on 29 September 2021.

Lord Kamall: The National Health Service is establishing pilot gender dysphoria clinics under a new delivery model for this service. Pilot clinics have already opened in London, Cheshire and Merseyside, Manchester and the East of England, with a further site planned to open in Sussex later this year. These clinics will be evaluated shortly, which will establish the viability of the new model. This will reduce waiting times for patients and ensure the availability of these services for transgender people.

Coronavirus: Screening

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether those individuals classed as high risk will still be able to obtain free lateral flow tests from 1 April; and if so, who will be considered high risk.

Lord Roberts of Llandudno: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to ensure that people who have family members with terminal illness will be eligible for free lateral flow tests after 1 April.

Lord Kamall: From 1 April 2022, free universal access to lateral flow device tests for the public in England will end. We will continue to make testing available for a small number of at risk groups. Further details on eligible groups will be made available in due course.

Coronavirus: Prescription Drugs

Baroness Rawlings: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Kamall on 21 March (HL6991), what body was responsible for the decision that antiviral treatments for COVID-19 can only be prescribed by a clinician within a COVID Medicine Delivery Unit and are not available for general practice prescribing and purchase directly from pharmacies; when this decision was taken, and why.

Lord Kamall: The decision was made by NHS England and NHS Improvement prior to December 2021, when the first COVID Medicine Delivery Units were launched. Any decisions on the longer-term deployment of COVID-19 treatments beyond the highest risk groups will be subject to the outcomes of the PANORAMIC study on the effectiveness of antivirals in the United Kingdom population.

Healthy Start Scheme

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether an impact assessment has been undertaken on the application of transaction fees to purchases made using Healthy Start prepaid cards.

Lord Kamall: No impact assessment was undertaken. The NHS Business Services Authority do not charge the retailer transaction fees for use of the Healthy Start prepaid card. However, as for any card payment, retailers may be charged by their acquiring bank.

Allergies

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to establish a National Clinical (1) Lead, or (2) Director, to work alongside the Clinical Immunologist advising on allergy pathways.

Lord Kamall: Whilst there are currently no plans to appoint a National Clinical Lead or Director for allergies, NHS England and NHS Improvement keep the position under review and new National Clinical Directors or Specialty Advisers are appointed as necessary.Clinical advice and leadership is currently provided by the clinical reference group for specialised allergy and immunology services, which leads on the development of clinical commissioning policies, service specifications and quality standards.

Allergies

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to establish a National Strategy for Allergy.

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with the devolved administrations regarding a UK-wide National Strategy for Allergy.

Lord Kamall: There are no plans to develop a National Strategy for Allergy in England and we have had no specific discussions with the devolved administrations. We continue to engage with stakeholders to understand the needs of people with allergies and how services could be improved.

Healthy Start Scheme

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow Healthy Start prepaid cards to be used for making online and telephone purchases of food items covered by the scheme.

Lord Kamall: All beneficiaries who have a prepaid card can use it in all retailers which accept Mastercard payments and sell the permitted Healthy Start food items. There are no current plans to allow the prepaid card to be used online or for telephone purchases.

NHS and Social Services: Staff

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what arrangements are in place for regular consultation between the Home Office and the Department of Health and Social Care with regards to health and care staff of all grades; whether these include regular meetings; and who is responsible for assessing the effectiveness of any such arrangements.

Lord Kamall: Officials from the Home Office attend the Department for Health and Social Care’s Cross Whitehall International Recruitment Steering Group which meets every four months. Officials liaise regularly on cross cutting issues, including the Shortage Occupation List. There has been no assessment of the efficacy of these meetings.

Healthy Start Scheme

The Lord Bishop of Gloucester: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether transaction fees will be applied to purchases made using Healthy Start prepaid cards; and if so, what plans they have to consider the potential merits of exempting charitable food providers from those fees.

Lord Kamall: The NHS Business Services Authority does not charge the retailer transaction fees for use of the Healthy Start pre-paid card. As for any card payment, retailers may be charged by their acquiring bank.

Ministry of Justice

Probate

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of delays in granting probate on the wills of deceased persons in (1) England, and (2) Wales, due to the COVID-19 pandemic; and what steps they are taking to clear the backlog of cases caused by such delays.

Lord Wolfson of Tredegar: The administration of probate applications is dealt with as a national service, covering England and Wales.Average waiting times for probate grants, from July 2019 to September 2021, are published on gov.uk via Family Court Statistics Quarterly (Table 25):https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/family-court-statistics-quarterlyInformation for the period up to December 2021 will be published on 31 March.More recent management information published by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), which does not go through the same level of quality assurance and analysis as the Family Court Statistics Quarterly, provides waiting time information up to December 2021: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/hmcts-management-information-december-2021.Despite the unprecedented challenges faced by the probate service during the Covid 19 pandemic, and as a result of HMCTS increasing resources to meet demand, the average length of time taken for a grant of probate following receipt of the documents required is between five and seven weeks.The improvement of the online probate system remains a priority for HMCTS, to ensure more applications can be issued first time and resources can be focused on reducing waiting times. HMCTS continues to collaborate with its users to enhance the service and the latest information on this can be found at: https://insidehmcts.blog.gov.uk/2022/02/28/working-together-to-avoid-delays-to-probate-applications/ .

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Russia: Diplomatic Service

Lord Selkirk of Douglas: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consideration they have given to removing Russian diplomats from the UK.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We will continue to consider options in concert with our allies. Having Russian representatives in the UK allows us to deliver clear and tough messages directly to Putin's Government, as the FCDO summoning of the Russian Ambassador and the MoD summoning of the Russian Defence Attaché demonstrated.

Russia: Sequestration of Assets

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to make available confiscated Russian assets to victims of the war in Ukraine.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: HMG is exploring what options there may be to use sanctioned assets, including real estate. Michael Gove, Secretary of State for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, has committed to exploring an option that would allow the use of homes and properties of sanctioned individuals for as long as they are sanctioned, for humanitarian and other purposes. The UK is also supporting Ukrainian refugees through the Homes for Ukraine Scheme. The Home Office has also exceptionally introduced some concessions in the Family Migration route to assist immediate family members of British Nationals normally living in Ukraine with their British national family member, who intend to return to or relocate to the UK with their British National family member.

White Phosphorus

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken to designate phosphorous as a banned weapon under the Chemical Weapons Convention; and what progress they have made in achieving such a designation.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: White phosphorus is not a chemical weapon. The UK Government continues to condemn the indiscriminate or disproportionate use of any weapon, including incendiary weapons or those that have an incendiary effect, in contravention of international humanitarian law.

Ukraine: White Phosphorus

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports that phosphorus munitions have been used in attacks on civilians in Popasna, in the Luhansk region of Ukraine.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK Government continues to condemn the indiscriminate or disproportionate use of any weapon, including incendiary weapons or those that have an incendiary effect. The targeting of civilians and civilian objects is not only abhorrent, but also a blatant violation of international law, and should not continue under any circumstances. Russia appears to be conducting indiscriminate attacks on Ukrainian civilians. These allegations only strengthen the need for an International Criminal Court investigation into Russian war crimes and for the world to stand together in defence of International Humanitarian Law.

Nagorno Karabakh and Syria: White Phosphorus

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they have taken in response to reports of white phosphorus being used against civilian populations in (1) northern Syria, and (2) Nagorno-Karabakh; and whether they are treating both incidents as potential war crimes under the Geneva Convention.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: HMG is aware of unconfirmed reports of use of white phosphorus in northern Syria and during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. White phosphorus is not classed as a chemical weapon. However, the targeting of civilians or indiscriminate use of any weapons is against International Humanitarian Law.Her Majesty's Government strongly supports efforts to pursue accountability for the most serious crimes committed in Syria, including through bodies such as the UN Commission of Inquiry and the International Impartial and Independent Mechanism. These bodies were established with the express purpose of enquiring into and investigating potential war crimes. It would be inappropriate for the UK to cut across their efforts. We continue to encourage the Armenian and Azerbaijani Governments, including through our Embassies in Yerevan and Baku, to thoroughly investigate all allegations of war crimes and serious human rights violations during and after the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Russia: Iran

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent Russian demands innegotiations with Iran towards a new Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are at the end of talks to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA). There is a fair and comprehensive deal on the table which would reverse Iran's nuclear programme, return its programme to strict JCPoA limits, and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. It would also provide economic benefit to the Iranian people.The sanctions in place on Russia due to their unprovoked invasion of Ukraine are entirely separate to the Iran nuclear deal. We reject attempts to exploit JCPoA negotiations to obtain assurances that are separate to the JCPoA. We urge all parties to focus on rapidly concluding the deal and implementing it in full.

Iran: Nuclear Power

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the nuclear security risk of continuingnegotiations with Iran towards the return of the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action(JCPOA) agreement,given the potential threat of the use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We are at the end of talks to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPoA). There is a fair and comprehensive deal on the table which would reverse Iran's nuclear programme, return its programme to strict JCPoA limits, and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. It would also provide economic benefit to the Iranian people.We urge all parties to focus on rapidly concluding the deal and implementing it in full.

West Bank: Demolitions

Baroness Janke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the map of (1) house demolitions, and (2) household displacements, in Israel and the West Bank, published by theIsraeli Committee Against House Demolitions in February.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. On 19 January, the former Minister for the Middle East urged the Government of Israel to stop these practices. The UK raises these issues with the Government of Israel, most recently with Israel's Ministry of Defence on 20 January and Ministry of Justice on 27 January.

West Bank: Migrant Workers

Baroness Janke: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the restrictions on foreign citizens seeking to reside or work in the West Bank, published by the government of Israel in February.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK raises the issue of freedom of movement and access into and out of the Occupied Palestinian Territories with the Israeli authorities. We recognise Israel's legitimate need to deploy security measures and we encourage them to deploy these in a way that minimises tension.

West Bank: Demolition

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) thepolicy of the government of Israelof demolishing the homes of suspected Palestinian terrorists, and (2) therestrictions on demonstrations against this policy.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: In all but the most exceptional of circumstances, demolitions and evictions are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. On 19 January, the former Minister for Middle East urged the Government of Israel to stop these practices. The UK raises these issues with the Government of Israel, most recently with Israel's Ministry of Defence on 20 January and Ministry of Justice on 27 January.

Ahmad Manasra

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to the government of Israel concerning the incarceration of Ahmad Manasra for almost six years, from the age of 13.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue with Israel on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the treatment of Palestinian children. We remain committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention and raise this with the Israeli Ministry of Justice.

Occupied Territories: Health Services

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of recent reports of the restrictions placed on healthcare services in the West Bank and Gaza, including the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, resulting from transit restrictions imposed by the government of Israel.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK regularly raises the issue of freedom of movement and access into and out of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, including for healthcare services, with the Israeli authorities.

Brazil: Rainforests

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representations they have made to(1) the government of Brazil, and (2) international partners, to ensure that any proposals to complete Brazil’s federal highway BR-319 from Manaus, Amazonas to Porto Velho, Rondônia, will not result in increased deforestation in the Amazon by criminal gangs.

Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park: The UK regularly engages with Brazil on deforestation in the Amazon, both at Federal and State levels, bilaterally and with international partners, as well as with the private sector and civil society. The UK will continue to convey to Brazil the importance of respecting its own environmental licensing processes, including on major infrastructure projects. We follow the deforestation situation in Brazil closely and will continue to raise our concerns regarding any project that could intensify forest loss.While we remain concerned by the rising rates of deforestation in the Amazon, we were pleased to welcome Brazil's positive commitments at COP26. Brazil signed the Forest and Land Use pledge and committed to eliminating illegal deforestation by 2028, and to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030. The UK will support this and other climate commitments by doubling our International Climate Finance to £11.6 billion over the next five years - we will be investing at least £3 billion of this in solutions that protect and restore nature. The introduction of world-leading due diligence legislation through the Environment Bill will also tackle illegal deforestation in UK supply chains.

Ministry of Defence

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of whetherfuture income prospects are adequately covered when claims under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme are considered.

Baroness Goldie: Where an individual has a lasting injury received as a result of service which has an ongoing impact on the amount they are able to earn over their lifetime in terms of both salary and pension, financial security is provided through a lifelong, tax-free, inflation-proof, income known as a Guaranteed Income Payment (GIP).The GIP calculation takes account of both salary and age in determining the lifelong loss of earnings the individual is likely to face, both salary and pension, as a result of their service-caused injury or injuries. It also includes an enhancement for lost future military promotions. This calculation enables the Department to provide a payment that not only recognises final salary but also loss of future potential earnings.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they expect to implement an online application to enhance customer experience and reduce processing times for applications for pay-outs from the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Baroness Goldie: An online Armed Forces Compensation and War Pension Scheme application service has been developed and is currently being tested in a beta phase. The service will be presented for a Government Digital Service (GDS) assessment on 31 March 2022 when the GDS will assess the quality, suitability and security of the service. During this assessment further opportunities to improve the service may be identified, prompting a further phase of improvements before a second assessment - likely to be scheduled for early summer 2022.Launch of the service to the public will follow attainment of a successful Beta assessment.

Armed Forces Compensation Scheme: Digital Technology

Lord Moynihan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what progress they have made on the £40 million transformation programme to digitise existing paper-based processes and to create a single customer portal for the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Baroness Goldie: The Transformation Programme to digitise existing paper based processes and create a single customer portal for Veterans is underway. This complex and detailed programme is being managed by contractors in collaboration with Defence Business Services and the Discovery phase for the three schemes (Armed Forces Pension Scheme, Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and War Pensions Scheme) is nearing completion. The programme aims to introduce automation, processing improvements and significantly reduce paper holdings. The first release of the new system is expected in late 2023. This will underpin the customer portal, which is being developed concurrently. This will enable members to provide and retrieve information electronically and allow them to securely access details of their entitlement and payments.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Fisheries: Monitoring

Lord Teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to include in the Joint Fisheries Statement a date by which (1) the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, and (2) the other devolved administrations, will publish a plan to roll out Remote Electronic Monitoring.

Lord Benyon: The draft Joint Fisheries Statement (JFS) has been developed jointly with the Devolved Administrations and is a significant step forward in our ambitions to ensure a vibrant, modern and resilient fishing industry and a healthy marine environment.The draft commits the fisheries policy authorities to a wide-ranging and coordinated monitoring programme to underpin their approach to fisheries management. This includes a commitment to explore, where appropriate, the use of technologies such as vessel monitoring systems and Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) for both their scientific purposes, and to aid the sustainable management and control of fisheries.The public consultation on the JFS is open until 12 April. We will consider responses to that public consultation and any parliamentary scrutiny prior to the publication of the finalised JFS in November. In the meantime, Marine Scotland published a consultation on the use of REM on 16 March.

Fisheries: Monitoring

Lord Teverson: To ask Her Majesty's Government when they will publish a consultation on Remote Electronic Monitoring, following the call for evidence in 2020.

Lord Benyon: As part of our commitment to delivering a world class fisheries management system Defra is developing a set of proposals for expanding the use of Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) in English waters. Last year we published the results of our call for evidence on REM which indicated that there are differing views on the use of REM in fisheries. We have been engaging with stakeholders to understand their perspectives and explore their views on different approaches. We do intend to test our proposals through public consultation when they are sufficiently developed, but are conscious of stakeholder capacity to engage and want to ensure that we make the most of the opportunity offered by formal consultation. Ultimately, we want to develop the right policy to maximise the potential of this exciting technology and ensure that it complements other marine and fisheries reforms, such as a future catching policy and the rollout of Fisheries Management Plans.

Pigs

Lord Burnett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what support and assistance they will give to pig farmers in England who are in financial difficulty; and what assessment they have made of the support given by the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to pig farmers in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Lord Benyon: We continue to work closely with the pig industry to help them respond to challenges caused by the pandemic, including the loss of exports to the Chinese market for certain pig processors, disruption to CO2 supplies, and a temporary shortage of labour in the processing sector. This has led to a growing backlog of pigs on farms. We have provided a package of measures to help address these unique circumstances, aimed at reducing the backlog of pigs on farms. The package includes temporary work visas for pork butchers, and Private Storage Aid and Slaughter Incentive Payment schemes to facilitate an increase in the throughput of pigs through abattoirs. We are also launching a UK-wide review of supply chain fairness in the pig sector. We will be engaging with industry on this with a consultation expected later this year. Minister Prentis has chaired two Roundtables – on 10 February and 3 March - with representatives of the pig sector from across the UK. Following this, Minister Prentis also met with representatives of the agricultural banking sector to discuss the current situation in the pig sector. The banks confirmed that they are working closely with impacted pig farmers during this exceptionally challenging period and remain keen to be supportive. The support provided to pig producers by the Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive is to address very specific circumstances their pig producers have encountered. While we work closely with the Devolved Administrations, agriculture is a devolved policy and responsibility for the setting up of agricultural support schemes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the respective administrations.

Fishing Catches

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what specific measures they will implement to address sensitive species bycatch in English waters.

Lord Benyon: We recognise that accidental bycatch in fisheries is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as dolphins and seabirds, and we remain fully committed to tackling this issue. The Fisheries Act 2020 and Joint Fisheries Statement have an “ecosystem objective” which includes an objective to minimise and, where possible, eliminate incidental catches of sensitive marine species. Since 2020, Defra has funded Clean Catch UK, a research programme which is developing and trialling a range of bycatch monitoring and mitigation measures in Cornwall (a known high-risk area for sensitive species bycatch). This programme has developed a bycatch self-reporting mobile application validated by observers and electronic monitoring and an online ‘Bycatch Mitigation Hub’ with information on different approaches to reduce bycatch. In addition, we are working with the fishing industry to trial various innovative technologies to reduce cetacean bycatch. The government will continue to build on the work of Clean Catch to improve our understanding of bycatch and implement effective mitigation measures to minimise and, where possible, eliminate bycatch. The UK Government funds a comprehensive and well-respected bycatch monitoring programme which provides essential observer data on incidents of sensitive species bycatch. The programme focuses primarily on gear types with a high expected or known risk of sensitive species bycatch. A new contract for the bycatch monitoring programme is expected to begin in April 2022.

Agricultural Products: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is the total cost to date of the Movement Assistance Scheme for each year since its creation.

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are the projected costs of the Movement Assistance Scheme for the next financial year.

Lord Benyon: The total cost of the Movement Assistance Scheme up to 31 January 2022, the latest date for which data is available, was £12.36 million. Of this total, £8.83 million has been expended in the current financial year. The forecast expenditure for the next financial year, 2022/23, is £13.1 million.

Agricultural Products: Northern Ireland

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people are employed (1) directly, and (2) indirectly, in the operation of the Movement Assistance Scheme.

Lord Benyon: At the end of February 2022, 31 people were directly employed on either a full-time or a part-time basis in the operation of the Movement Assistant Scheme across both Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), including APHA helplines. It is not possible to indicate how many are indirectly so employed.

Fishing Catches

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Bycatch Mitigation Initiative’s ability to meet the ecosystem objective in the Fisheries Act 2020, to ensure that sensitive species bycatch is (1) minimised, and (2) eliminated.

Lord Benyon: We recognise that accidental bycatch in fisheries is one of the greatest threats faced by sensitive marine species such as dolphins and seabirds, and we remain fully committed to tackling this issue. Defra officials are working closely with the Devolved Administrations to finalise the UK Bycatch Mitigation Initiative (BMI). The BMI will identify policy objectives and potential actions to achieve part of the Fisheries Act’s ecosystem objective to minimise and, where possible, eliminate incidental catches of sensitive marine species. The actions include improving our understanding of where and how much bycatch occurs and implementing effective mitigation measures to minimise and, where possible, eliminate bycatch. This initiative will set out a joint vision for bycatch across the UK. Each administration will be responsible for developing solutions that are tailored to local needs.

Home Office

British Nationality: Children

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how muchrevenue they have raised in total from the fee charged to children to register their entitlement to citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981 in each year since the current fee level was set.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office does not hold the information in the format requested. Fees received from citizenship applications are not differentiated between the various categories in which they are received.We do not have a separate code or field for fees collected for children’s citizenship applications.

Slavery: Victims

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish in draft the statutory guidance on the identification of potential victims of slavery or human trafficking, referred to in clause 64 of the Nationality and Borders Bill, during that Bill's passage through Parliament.

Lord Alton of Liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will publish in draft the statutory guidance on the identification of potential victims of slavery or human trafficking, referred to in clause 64 of the Nationality and Borders Bill, during the current parliamentary session.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: We committed in the Lords to engage with Lord Alton of Liverpool, Baroness Butler-Sloss, and others on the development of the guidance for decision makers in relation to the Modern Slavery clauses of the Nationality and Borders Bill.The guidance will be published in the coming months.

British Nationality: Children

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government by how much the revenue raised from the fee charged to register children's entitlement to citizenship exceeds the administrative costs of processing such applications for (1) looked after children, and (2) those who are not looked after, for each year since the current fee level was set.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office does not hold the information in the format requested. We do not have a separate code or field for fees collected for children registering their entitlement to citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981.Details of the fee payable and estimated unit cost from the date the current fees to register as a British citizen became effective, (from 8th October 2018) can be accessed via the following link: Visa fees transparency data - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

British Nationality: Children

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the costs of (1) abolishing the fee charged for looked after children to register their entitlement to citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981, and (2) charging other children a fee equivalent to the average administrative cost of processing applications.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Secretary of State is considering her policy response to a review of the fee for a child to register as a British Citizen.The review, which was undertaken in line with duties under Section 55 of the Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009, takes into account a number of factors. We expect to provide a further update shortly.

British Nationality

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much revenue they have raised above therelevant administrative costs from the fee charged to adults to register their entitlement to citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981, for each year since the current fee level was set.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office does not hold the information in the format requested.We do not have a separate code or field for fees collected for adults to register their entitlement to citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981.

Refugees: Ukraine

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many refugees from Ukraine have been admitted into the UK since 1 February; and how many of these made it known that they had family in the UK when they made their application for refugee status.

Lord Wigley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many refugees from Ukraine have applied to enter the UK since Russia's invasion of that country.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: Information on the number of applications currently being processed under the newly launched Ukraine Family Scheme (UFS) can be found in our published data on the GOV.UK webpage: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/ukraine-family-scheme-application-dataStatistical information regarding number of Ukrainian nationals applying for UK visas prior to the launch of the UFS is regularly released by UKVI. The latest published statistics can be found here: Immigration statistics, year ending December 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Providing the complete information requested would exceed the word limit for responses to written parliamentary questions. However, the information requested is available through the links provided.

Refugees: Ukraine

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to allow (1) medical, and (2) veterinary, students who are refugees from Ukraine to (a) complete their studies, and (b) work, in the UK.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: In response to the situation in Ukraine, we have launched both the Ukraine Family Scheme and the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.People coming to the UK under these schemes will be able to work and study without restriction in the UK, including in veterinary and medical areas.

Visas: Russia

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Tier 1 (Investor) visas have been issued to Russian citizens.

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Russian citizens who have been granted Tier 1 (Investor) visas are subject to sanctions following Russia's invasion of parts of Ukraine.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office publishes data on entry clearance visas in the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’. Data on the number of applications from Investor visas (previously Tier 1) to Russian nationals, and the decisions on such applications are published in tables ‘Vis_D01’ and ‘Vis_D02’ of the entry clearance detailed datasets. Information on how to use the dataset can be found in the ‘Notes’ page of the workbook.The latest data includes up to the end of 2021.Please note that the published data relate to Russian nationals, regardless of their residency. Information on future Home Office statistical release dates can be found in the ‘Research and statistics calendar’.As of 18th March 2022 a total of 8 Russian nationals subject to UK sanctions in connection to the invasion of Ukraine have been identified as holding or having held leave as a Tier 1 (investor) migrant or as a Tier 1 (investor) migrant dependent.

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Landlords and Tenants: Registration

Lord Bourne of Aberystwyth: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the need for a register of Landlords and Tenants alongside a separate register for a redress scheme for landlords and tenants.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Government has committed to exploring the merits of introducing a national landlord register in England as part of a commitment to drive up standards in privately rented accommodation.We are engaging with a range of stakeholders and potential users of a register such as private landlords, local authority enforcement officers, letting agents and private tenants to inform this work.We are committed to giving the private rented sector access to redress. Currently half of all landlords do not use an agent to manage their property and therefore their tenants do not have access to redress where they have a legitimate complaint about their home. This means private tenants who rent directly from a landlord have little course for redress other than through the courts, unlike private tenants who rent through an agent and all social housing tenants who have access to redress schemes. Going to court can be expensive and time-consuming for tenants and landlords and takes up valuable court time and resources. This approach will avoid any confusion for private landlords and will make it easier for them to understand their obligations.We will publish a White Paper in Spring this year that will set out our proposals for reform of the private rented sector.

High Rise Flats: Safety

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the reports about their tower block safety plan, whether the UK house building industry will be required to pay for remedies to buildings constructed by overseas developers; and if so, why.

Lord Greenhalgh: The Secretary of State’s statement made clear that no leaseholder living in a building above 11m will ever face any costs for fixing dangerous cladding. We expect industry to make right their historic mistakes by funding and fixing the stock of unsafe buildings they have built over decades.We are offering industry a window of opportunity, to work with the department through open and transparent talks to agree a settlement that will restore confidence and ensure the industry that caused the problem pays to fix it. Over recent weeks we have held several roundtables with developers and cladding and insulation to make our position clear, and talks are ongoing.In addition, the residential property developer tax (RPDT) will be charged on the profits of companies carrying out residential property development. The tax is part of a wider plan to bring an end to unsafe cladding, provide reassurance to homeowners and support confidence in the housing market.The Building Safety Levy will be charged on any residential building that requires building control approval. It is not based on developer location or profit margin. Moreover, if amendments to the Building Safety Bill are enacted, courts will also be given new powers to grant Building Liability Orders to allow developers to be sued where they have used shell companies to manage specific developments and avoid taking responsibility for their actions. The court may choose to apply a Building Liability Order to a developer based overseas if it is an associated company, which would be enforced in the normal manner.

Refugees: Ukraine

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to use the homes of sanctioned Russian oligarchs to house Ukrainian refugees.

Lord Harrington of Watford: I refer the Noble Lord to the Secretary of State's Oral Statement (attached) to Parliament of 14 March 2022.Oral Statement (pdf, 473.8KB)

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Vetting

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether security checks under the sponsorship scheme for British households opening their homes to Ukrainian refugees will involve (1) a full Disclosure and Barring Service criminal records check, or (2) a one-off check against the police national computer database.

Lord Harrington of Watford: I refer the noble Lord to the guidance for local authorities available online (attached) at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/homes-for-ukraine-guidance-for-councilsHome for Ukraine guidance (pdf, 166.2KB)

Northern Ireland Office

USA: Visits Abroad

Baroness Hoey: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Caine on 16 March (HL6665), how many (1) Ministers, (2) Officials, and (3) Special Advisors, attended the St Patrick's Day celebrations this year in the USA; how many days did all attendees stay; and what was the total cost of the visit.

Lord Caine: The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland attended St. Patrick’s Day events in the USA this year, along with a number of other engagements with senior members of the Administration and Congress between 15-18 March. He travelled with one official and one Special Advisor. It is not yet possible to give a final cost of the visit.

Treasury

Bank of England Asset Purchase Facility Fund

Lord Tyrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Penn on 9 March (HL6405), whether they will publish the Asset Purchase Facility (APF) deed indemnity with the “operationally sensitive information” redacted.

Baroness Penn: The Asset Purchase Facility (APF) deed indemnity will not be published.HM Treasury indemnifies the APF which means that any losses or gains from the APF accrue to HM Treasury. This is public knowledge and the publication of the deed of indemnity will not advance the public’s understanding of that arrangement. This decision not to publish the information based on an assessment of risk that the Treasury has considered.

Oil: Taxation

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to implement a windfall tax on oil producers.

Baroness Penn: The UK Government places additional taxes on the extraction of oil and gas, with companies engaged in the production of oil and gas on the UK Continental Shelf subject to headline tax rates on their profits that are currently more than double those paid by other businesses. To date, the sector has paid more than £375 billion in production taxes. All taxes are kept under review and any changes are considered and announced by the Chancellor.

Individual Savings Accounts: Children

Lord Lee of Trafford: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Penn on 28 February (HL6497), what assessment they have made of whether giving grandparents with written parental approval the ability to open a junior ISA on behalf of a grandchild would significantly increase the number of such ISAs taken out, in line with their policy objective.

Baroness Penn: Junior ISAs (JISAs) form a key part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring that young people are supported to save from an early age and into adulthood. Since the launch of the JISA in 2011, the number of accounts being subscribed to each year has increased significantly. In 2019-20, over 1 million JISAs were subscribed to on behalf of children across the UK. The Government wishes to ensure that the ISA regime remains simple and sustainable for both savers and providers. Placing a restriction on who can open and manage a Junior ISA (JISA) helps to prevent more than one account of each type (cash or stocks and shares) being opened in error and ensures that there is a single point of contact for the giving of instructions. Removing this restriction would increase the risk of multiple accounts being opened and subsequently needing to be made void. A grandparent who does not have parental responsibility is therefore unable to open or manage a Junior ISA on behalf of their grandchild. While only parents or legal guardians can open a JISA on behalf of their children, grandparents can add funds to the account, up to the subscription limit of £9,000 per year. Grandparents may also open an adult ISA in their own name to save and invest for their grandchildren, which can later be gifted outside of an ISA. The Government continues to keep all aspects of savings policy under review.

Economic Crime

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they will take to tackle illicit finance.

Baroness Penn: Money obtained through corruption or criminality is not welcome in the UK, and the Government is taking concerted action to combat the threat of illicit finance from source to destination, including that linked to Russia. In recent years, the Government published a landmark public-private partnership Economic Crime Plan. The Plan outlines a comprehensive national response to economic crime and sets out 52 actions being taken by both the public and private sectors to ensure the UK cannot be abused for economic crime. The Government is also bringing forward significant investment to tackle economic crime; the combination of last year’s Spending Review settlement and private sector contributions through the Economic Crime (AML) Levy will provide economic crime funding totalling around £400 million over the next three years. Most recently, following the Prime Minister’s announcement in February, the Government has brought forward the Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act to crack down further on dirty money and corrupt elites in the UK. The Act: Introduces a “Register of Overseas Entities Beneficial Ownership of UK property” to tackle foreign criminals using UK property to launder money.Reforms our Unexplained Wealth Orders regime, to remove key barriers and help target more corrupt elites.Strengthens the Treasury’s ability to take action against sanctions breaches.  This is not all. The Government has announced a new dedicated Kleptocracy cell in the National Crime Agency and published details of further upcoming legislation to clamp down on money-laundering and illicit finance. This will include fundamental reform of Companies House, enhanced information sharing powers and new powers to seize crypto assets finance.

Economic Situation

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent assessment they have made of the strength of the UK economy.

Baroness Penn: Last year the UK saw a faster-than-previously-expected economic recovery, with the fastest growth in the G7 and unemployment was lower than expected. But there are significant headwinds and uncertainty ahead. The Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) has published an updated forecast for the UK economy on 23 March alongside the Spring Statement. While the forecast includes the initial effect of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the OBR have acknowledged that “given the unfolding situation in Ukraine, there is unusually high uncertainty around this outlook.” The OBR expect growth of 3.8% in 2022.

Public Expenditure

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent steps they have taken to help ensure value for money in public spending.

Baroness Penn: Spending Review 2021 placed a renewed emphasis on ensuring that every pound of taxpayers’ money is spent well and focused on the areas that make the most difference to people’s daily lives. Through this, the government set clear outcomes for what spending will buy; ensured that all decisions are informed by the best quality evidence; encouraged joint working between departments; and took further action to drive out low value or inefficient spend. At the Spring Statement, the government also set out plans for a new drive to achieve even greater efficiency, effectiveness and economy in public spending and ensure departments are delivering the highest quality services at the best value. This work will be driven by the new Chancellor-chaired Committee on Efficiency and Value for Money.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Pornography: Internet

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government how the proposed Online Safety Bill will address the availability of (1) violent, or (2) abusive, pornography online.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Online Safety Bill was introduced to Parliament on 17 March. The Bill will require user-to-user and search services to tackle illegal content on their sites.Revenge and extreme pornography will be listed as priority illegal offences in the Online Safety Bill. This means that companies will need to have proportionate systems and processes in place to seek out and remove this type of content or face regulatory enforcement action.Providers of services which are likely to be accessed by children will also have additional duties to protect children from harmful and age-inappropriate content such as pornography, even if it is not illegal. There will also be specific duties on providers which publish pornographic content on their services to prevent children from accessing that content.

Pornography: Internet

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what powers the proposed Online Safety Bill will give Ofcom (1) to investigate adult services' implementation of robust age verification, and (2) to take enforcement action where necessary.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Online Safety Bill, introduced to Parliament on 17 March 2022, places duties on providers which publish or place pornographic content on their services to prevent children from accessing that content. The Online Safety Bill will not mandate the use of specific technologies to comply with their new duties, as it is vital that the Bill is future-proofed. However, it is expected that companies may use age verification technologies to prevent children from accessing online pornography.The Bill will also give Ofcom powers to investigate potential non-compliance with the new regime, for example a failure to sufficiently prevent children from accessing pornographic content. This includes information-gathering powers. Ofcom will also be able to require individuals to attend an interview when investigating possible non-compliance.The Bill also provides Ofcom with robust enforcement powers to take action when platforms do not comply with their obligations, including requiring improvements, imposing substantial fines, and pursuing business disruption measures (including blocking).

Pornography: Internet

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the number of UK children who have accessed online pornography since their decision not to bring Part 3 of theDigital Economy Act 2017 into force in October 2019.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The Online Safety Bill will go further than the Digital Economy Act 2017, protecting children from a broader range of harmful content on a wider range of services. The Digital Economy Act was criticised for not covering social media companies, through which a considerable quantity of pornographic material is accessible, and which research suggests children use to access pornography. The online safety framework will cover all online sites that offer pornography, including commercial pornography sites, social media, video-sharing platforms, fora and search engines.HM Government has commissioned research to build the evidence base on harms to children online. This will review the prevalence and impact of a wide range of harmful content online, including pornography, to ensure that the Online Safety Bill provides comprehensive protections for children.